The French Revolution is rolling back onto game night tables. Avalon Hill is reviving Guillotine, Paul Peterson's 1998 card game of decapitating nobles, with a new edition hitting shelves on 1 August 2026 at an MSRP of $19.99 (around £15).
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Find events near youIf you've never played, the premise is exactly as morbid as it sounds. Three rounds, twelve nobles in line each round, and you control the guillotine. Action cards let you rearrange the queue to make sure the juiciest noble (Marie Antoinette, the bishop, the king himself) ends up under your blade. Behead a "Hero of the People" by accident and you'll lose points, so timing matters.
Peterson, who later designed Smash Up and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, made his name with this little box. The original sold quietly for over two decades before drifting out of print, and it's been on plenty of "where did my copy go?" Reddit threads ever since. This new edition keeps the core game intact but swaps in tarot-sized noble cards, refreshed art, and the bit that's getting people talking: an actual wooden guillotine prop to hold the deck. No, it doesn't chop the cards. Yes, it absolutely looks the part.
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See how it worksAt 20 minutes for 2-5 players and ages 12+, it's the kind of light, mean, deeply silly filler that earns a spot in any party game stash. Cheaper than a round at the pub.
Got a games shop or community ready to host a learn-to-play? Guillotine is a five-minute teach and a perfect gateway for friends who think board games take three hours. List your event free on Backseat Gamer and round up a few heads.
Sources: Tabletop Sentinel | GamesRadar+ | Bleeding Cool | TechRaptor
